HotelChatter - Tag: accor hotels

Homebush Bay: Pullman's Gold Medal Package Doesn't Include A Medal

amandak — 2008-10-23T09:40:49-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/Pullman_Hotel_Sydney.jpg" class="imgborder"> We mentioned last month that <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/9/17/5231/65912/hotels/Sydney_s_Loading_Up_On_Hotel_Rooms">Sydney was stocking up on hotel rooms</a>, including the opening of the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Pullman+At+Sydney+Olympic+Park/ian/268098">Pullman at Sydney Olympic Park</a>--the first five-star hotel outside of central downtown in Sydney.Now that the Pullman is properly up and running we're hearing more about it. The pillow menu got a good reaction in a recent Sydney Morning Herald review but the lack of a driveway in the hotel got the thumbs down--although there are apparently usually porters waiting to grab your suitcase when you pull up on the road, and the staff will also valet park your car for nix.If you're feeling sporty, which we are when we think of this Olympic Park location, then the

Melbourne : New Label for Old Hotel :: Grand Hotel Melbourne Becomes an MGallery Hotel

amandak — 2008-10-01T09:00:37-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/Grand_Hotel_Melbourne_Corridors.jpg" class="imgborder"> We got curious when fashionable Aussie blogger <a href="http://www.karencheng.com.au/2008/09/21/going-to-melbourne/">Karen Cheng</a> said that the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Accor%20Hotels">Accor Hotels</a> people were sending her to stay at the "brand new" <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Grand+Hotel+Managed+By+Sofitel/ian/133450">Grand Hotel by Sofitel</a> on Spencer Street in Melbourne--we didn't think it was new. But a quick investigation soon found that in some ways, it is a bit new: it's just joined the exclusive MGallery hotel collection.As far as we can figure out, the whole MGallery thing is meant to be a fancy version of the Mercure brand, hence the "M". To kick off the collection Accor have chosen eight hotels from their Sofitel and Grand Hotel Mercure chains to become MGallery hotels, and the Grand in Melbourne is one

Is This the End of Ugly Bedspreads? Motel 6 To Get Euro-Sleek Look

Tim L. — 2008-03-13T12:02:05-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/motel6newdesign2.jpg" class="imgborder">People don't normally mention Motel 6 and "sleek design" in the same sentence. After all, the chain is known as the prototypical bare-bones roadside motel, with every material and piece of furniture in one seemingly the cheapest available in order to keep the nightly room rate below the competition's. French parent company Accor is trying to change all that though, with "a modern, European boutique-style flair" according to the <a href="http://www.motel6.com/about/press_room/release.aspx?Document=375">official press release</a>. Spin or no spin, the new room design, dubbed the Phoenix design, does sound like a major improvement: <blockquote>The room includes ambient lighting, wood-effect flooring rather than carpet, and a 32-inch flat-screen TV. The flat screen TV is displayed on the entertainment unit which conceals

Sydney: Hoopla Happenings at Sydney's Darling Harbour

amandak — 2008-03-07T09:25:41-05:00

Easter's coming early this year, and in Sydney as well as hunting for chocolate Easter eggs or greeting the Easter bilby (the Australian animal version of the Easter bunny), they'll be celebrating the Darling Harbour Hoopla Festival as well.

Hoopla is a circus and acrobatic festival that will see performers juggling, busking, abseiling and doing aerial stunts and slapstick comedy routines at many locations around the Darling Harbour precinct, all for free, and it sounds like a good laugh and a lot of fun.

Ho Chi Minh City: French Hotel Chain Invades Vietnam

Tim L. — 2008-03-06T11:01:00-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/sofitel_hanoi.jpg" class="imgborder"> French hotel operator Accor announced this week that they would be ramping up their presence in Vietnam, <a href="http://english.vietnamnet.vn/travel/2008/03/772124/">adding 12 hotels to their current 8 by the end of 2010</a>. Forget any visions of unspoiled hill tribe regions in the far north: the 150-room Pullman Sapa Resort and the 200-room Pullman Lao Cai Hotel are on the way. Heavily touristed Ha Long Bay will get its first international hotel: Novotel Ha Long Bay, opening this summer. Two new Mercure brand hotels will open in Hanoi, scheduled for 2009 and 2010--the first Mercure hotels in the country. More Novotels are on the way, including one in the beach resort area of Nha Trang. Surprisingly, there were no high-end